Oslavia, garden of the Collio

Oslavia is our home. A village of one hundred and fifty inhabitants on the easternmost foothills of the Collio. “Oslavia” is a name that evokes conflicting feelings: the pitiless cruelty of World War I and the nectar of Bacchus, wine.

This area is rich in history. At the entrance of the village a bilingual sign Oslavia / Oslavje clearly indicates the presence of a Slovenian minority and the proximity of the Slovenian border, just two hundred meters to the east. The local wine and food are a good portrait of the mixture of cultures and human events.

On the way up along the main road the sight is caught by an imposing white marble monument: the Oslavia war memorial, ordered by Mussolini in memory of the countless Italian soldiers who died during World War I: deprived of their own future, they were slaughtered for futile reasons, to conquer a tiny plot of land. The memorial holds the remains of 57.741 Italian soldiers who died in the battles of Gorizia, and of 540 Austro-Hungarian soldiers. Every evening the “clear” bell tolls to honor the fallen.

panorama-ribolla

Once the cruelty of the Great War is left behind you can dive into the enchanting landscape stretching before your eyes: the Collio in all its beauty. Its many vineyards are evidence of the special bond between the farmers and their land, the mutual respect they have been sharing for centuries.

The windy microclimate and the perfect temperature range between night and day make the ideal conditions for vineyard cultivation. The type of soil plays an important role too: it is commonly called ponca and it’s composed of arenaceous and marly stratifications from the Eocene. The symbol of this bond between people and nature is the wine, a labour of passion, tradition and dedication of whole generations of farmers.

The Ribolla Gialla is the wine that best epitomizes this poem. A glass that is as simple as the people, yet as deep as the history of this corner of Italy, stuck between the sea and the mountains, suspended between past and future, with a strong personality and a fascinating individuality.